Chapter 282
Aria's POV
James hesitated, his eyes darting to Arthur.
"Let her go," Arthur repeated coldly, his gaze fixed on his son with something between fury and grudging respect.
James released me. I ran to Devon without thinking, driven by pure instinct. His left arm came around me instantly, pulling me against his side, while his right hand kept the weapon ready. I could feel the violent tension in his body, his muscles coiled like steel cables ready to snap.
"Have you lost your mind?!" Arthur's voice rose like thunder before a storm. "Weapons are forbidden on Kane estate grounds—this is family law! You dare—"
"Why." Devon cut him off, his tone terrifyingly calm. "Why did you take what's mine?"
Arthur's face had gone from shock to fury in the span of a heartbeat. His cane struck the ground with explosive force. "Have you lost your mind? Weapons are forbidden on Kane estate grounds—this is family law! You dare—"
"Family law?" Devon's laugh was harsh, bitter. "Is that what we're calling it now?" His arm tightened around my waist, pulling me closer. "The same 'family' that lets Connor burn down rooms with people inside? The same 'family' that throws out a ten-year-old girl because she can no longer walk?"
I felt Devon's words like physical blows. A ten-year-old girl who could no longer walk. My mind raced, connecting fragments—the red ruby necklace, the wheelchair-bound woman at Tiffany's, Devon's careful tenderness with her.
Evelyn.
"That's ancient history," Arthur said, but something flickered in his eyes. Guilt? Regret? It vanished as quickly as it appeared. "What matters now is—"
"Ancient history?" Devon's voice rose, sharp enough to cut. "You want to talk about what matters? Let's talk about the fire, Father. Twenty years ago. Connor trapped us in the east wing storage room—me and Evelyn. He poured accelerant along the door frame, lit a match, and walked away."
My breath caught. I'd known Connor was dangerous, but this...
Arthur's jaw clenched. "It was investigated. The fire marshal ruled it accidental—"
"The fire marshal you paid off." Devon's eyes were cold gray steel. "I was fifteen. Evelyn was ten. We were locked in that room, smoke filling our lungs, flames climbing the walls. Do you know what she did?" His voice cracked, just slightly. "She pushed me toward the window. Used her own body to shield me when the support beam collapsed."
I could see it—a little girl, barely more than a child, making an impossible choice.
"Her spine," Devon continued, his words clipped and precise despite the emotion bleeding through. "Permanent nerve damage. She'll never walk again. And you—you swept it under the rug because Connor was the 'heir.' Because protecting the family name mattered more than protecting her."
"We gave her everything she needed," Arthur protested, but his voice had lost its thunder. "Medical care, financial support—"
"You exiled her!" Devon's shout echoed through the garden. "You sent her away the moment the doctors confirmed she'd never recover. Removed her from family photos. Struck her from the trust. All because she couldn't be married off to some business associate anymore. Because she was no longer 'useful' to the Kane legacy."
The pieces fell into place with sickening clarity. The woman at the hospital, the red ruby necklace worth ten million dollars, Devon's protective fury whenever I'd questioned their relationship. Not a lover. A sister. The sister he'd failed to protect.
"Devon." Arthur's voice had softened, almost pleading. "You don't understand the position we were in. Connor is the eldest. The board expected—"
"I understand perfectly." Devon's eyes locked on his father's. "You chose power over people. Status over family. You taught me that people are disposable if they don't serve the Kane empire." He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was deadly calm. "I'm done being your lesson."
"What are you saying?" Arthur demanded.
Devon pulled out his phone with his free hand, never loosening his grip on me. "Kane Technology. Market value: three hundred fifty billion dollars. I built it from nothing while you sat in your estate counting old money." He pulled up a document on the screen. "Family investment: fifteen percent. My personal stake: sixty-two percent. As of nine a.m. tomorrow, I'm executing a mandatory buyback of all family shares at one hundred fifty percent market value."
Arthur staggered backward. James moved to steady him, but the old man waved him off. "You can't—"
"I already have." Devon's smile was sharp as broken glass. "Legal reviewed it. The board approved it. You'll receive your payout by end of business tomorrow." He pocketed the phone. "Consider it severance for twenty years of interference."
"This is about the girl?" Arthur's voice cracked. "About some arrangement you've made with William Harper's daughter? You'd destroy your family legacy for—"
"This isn't about Aria." Devon's voice dropped to something almost gentle, which somehow made it more terrifying. "This is about Evelyn. About Connor. About every time you chose the family 'image' over actual family." His eyes met mine briefly, and I saw something raw there. "Aria just made me realize I deserve better than settling for scraps of human decency."
The weight of his words settled over the gazebo like snow. Arthur seemed to age a decade in that moment, his shoulders sagging beneath his expensive overcoat.
"You're making a mistake," Arthur said, but there was no force behind it. Just the echo of a man who'd built his life on control and was watching it slip away.
"No," Devon said quietly. "I'm correcting one." He turned to me, his expression softening fractionally. "We're leaving."
I nodded, unable to find words. As Devon guided me down the gazebo steps, Arthur's voice followed us, thin and desperate.
"Devon. The girl—Evelyn. We tried to make it right—"
Devon stopped but didn't turn around. "Twenty years too late, Father. Twenty years too late."
We walked across the frost-covered lawn in silence, Devon's hand never leaving the small of my back. The iron gates stood open, my prison transformed into an exit. As we reached the car, I finally found my voice.
"Evelyn," I whispered. "She's your sister."
"Foster sister," Devon corrected, opening the car door for me. "After the fire, after they cast her out, I made sure she had everything she needed. The necklace, the medical care, a trust fund they couldn't touch." His jaw clenched. "I couldn't give her back her legs. But I could make damn sure she never wanted for anything else."
I slid into the car, processing everything. The fierce protection Devon showed me suddenly made terrible sense. He'd failed to save Evelyn from her fate. He wouldn't fail again.
As Devon started the engine and the Kane estate disappeared in the rearview mirror, I placed my hand over my abdomen, feeling the secret growing there. The baby. Devon's child.
The child of a man who'd just burned down his entire world to protect what was his.
And somehow, that made me feel safer than any words ever could.